Disasters, I know we all hate that word. As humans we gird ourselves and simply say, “It won’t happen to me”. But the data shows that it’s not if it’s going to happen, it’s when is it going to happen.According to the Small Business Administration (SBA), 40% to 60% of small businesses fail following a major disaster. The number of presidentially declared disasters has more than doubled in recent years. However, many disasters don’t affect a large number of people like these declared events do. In fact, fire is the leading business disaster.If that is not bad enough, researchers estimate that approximately: half of business do not survive their first 5 years and 8 out of 10 fail within the first 3 years after a disaster.*Small Businesses have unique challenges that are quite different from their larger counterpart. Since 52 % of businesses are operated from the owner’s home or property their ability to recover is harder simply because they have to focus to two recovery efforts. There is never enough time to get them both done quickly and easily. If their business is in their home, there is no place for the work to continue. The property damage for a small business owner impacts BOTH the family and their business.While owning a small business may seem like the American Dream, owning a small business has many challenges. But after a disaster the challenges become more profound. There seems to be recurring views of these owners both before and after the disaster.Here are 7 challenges Small Business Owners face after a disaster:1. Illusion of Security2. Nothing could be done to protect against this3. Complete 360-degree disaster for the individual4. Self-imposed limits5. Imprudent use of financial resources6. Not understanding what is happening to their customer base7. Assumption everything will get back to normalStarting a business is a big achievement for many entrepreneurs, but maintaining one is the larger challenge. There are many standard challenges that face every business whether they are large or small. The largest challenge for small business owner is planning.Small business owners invest a tremendous amount of time, money and resources to make their ventures successful, yet, many owners fail to properly plan and prepare for disaster situations. You can protect your business by identifying the risks associated with natural and man-made disasters, and by creating a plan for action should a disaster strike. By keeping those plans updated, you can help ensure the survival of your business.When disaster strikes, having a plan and being able to put it into immediate action can mean the difference between staying open to service the needs of your customers and community or shutting down for a few days.I know, not another plan! Who has time for that?Resilience is different from preparedness. Where preparedness is something that you do; resilience is something that you become. In becoming more resilient, you as the owner should take intentional action. Do one thing today. (Just one thing). Do you back up your data? No, then get that done. Do you have an emergency contact list for your employees, suppliers, major clients? No, then get that done. Do you review you insurance policy every year with your agent? No, then get that done. Little by little, doing one thing moves you closer.You’ve finally achieved your dream. Don’t lose it to a power outage, hacker disruption, fire, earthquake or other disaster. If you’re not prepared, a disaster could put you and your employees at risk, possibly shutting down your business forever.

No Rent:Operating a business from Home eliminates the expense of rent or a monthly mortgage payment. Without this expense, the cost of starting a home business will be reduced as will the cost of month to month operating fees. This is a large savings and all that money can go right into your bank account or into your pocket.No Dress Code:If you work from home, you can wear whatever your want to the office. No more expensive suits or work uniforms. How great to wear sweatpants, a t-shirt and go barefoot to the office. Better still, wear your pajamas and slippers. Now that is what I call comfort. Don’t forget, the money you save on a wardrobe goes into your pocket too!No Commuting Fees:The cost of gasoline and diesel has steadily risen. I am not sure how far your daily drive to and from work is, but having your own home based business, will substantially reduce that expense. Not to mention, you will be one less commuter adding greenhouse gas to our environment. Furthermore, one of the factors calculated in your auto insurance premium is the miles a day or miles a week you drive your car. Do not overlook this savings when you start your home based business. Call your auto insurance carrier and let them know you are now walking to work-not driving to work-haha.No Traffic Jams:OK-I will bet you are thinking, how does this save money? A car’s engine and parts wear quicker when you spend half your commute starting and stopping. You also use more gas. With a home based job you have no commute and much less wear and tear on you car.. How about the stress and frustration you deal with by sitting, sitting and sitting in traffic. I for one do NOT miss traffic jams at all. Would you miss a traffic jam? Would you miss the careless and reckless drivers you contend with each day on your way to the office? I don’t think so!Set your Own Hours:Although this may not be a money saver, it sure is an Advantage to working at home. You decide what hours you work-NOT a Boss. If you are an “early bird”, you can work in the wee hours and have your afternoons for play. If you are a “night owl”, you can play late, sleep late and work afternoons. The choice will be yours and yours alone. If you are a work form home Mom, you can get the kids off to school, start work when they get on the bus and be home to greet them when the school day ends. Actually, if you are a “work at home” Mom, you can save money by not paying for after school care for children. Another BONUS savings found in owning and operating a Business at Home.All these advantages quickly convinced me to establish my own Home Based Business. Now you too can see how fast you can start to make money from home.

Auctions are those events where properties or goods are sold to the highest bidder. Auctions are mostly public events, where bidders make a series of bids and purchase a particular item for a high price. During auctions, bidders decide the price of an item rather than the seller. It depends on bidders to decide the amount they would want to pay for a specific item. During an auction, a bid is a proof of a legal binding. Bidders agree to pay the amount that they have bid. In a high profile auction, bidders may have to pay a deposit in escrow accounts or give a proof that they can pay for those items.

Types of Auctions:

Different types of auctions take place around the world. Below mentioned are some types of auctions:

1. English auction:
This is a basic type of auction. In this type, people can see the item and then start bidding. Bidders slowly raise the value of their bid until everyone gives up. The highest bidder is the winner. An auctioneer manages an auction, keeps records of the on going bid and decides the winner. Sometimes, the seller will quote a minimum amount for an item to the auctioneer, below which the auctioneer cannot sell that item.

2. Dutch auction:
In this type, the auctioneer sets a particular price and then gradually lowers the price. People in public will start bidding and later decide which prices are suitable for the item. A seller may use this type of auction to sell large quantities of same products to the public. For instance, a seller may want to sell a large amount of hay and will thus, decide to sell this hay to people for the same amount, once a reasonable price is decided.

3. Silent auction:
In this type, the bidders in public will present their bids in a sealed format. These sealed bids open at the same time and bidder with the highest bid wins. There could be a modification in this type of auction. The bidders are allotted a specific period to bid. They can roam in a room displaying the items, and write their bids on an associated sheet of paper. The bidders are allowed to see bids of other bidders and can choose a higher price for an item. At the end of the allotted time, bidder with the highest bid is the winner.

Examples of Auctions:

Auctions can be of two types either public or private. Sellers may trade any kind of items in both types of auctions. Some areas where auctions take place are:

1. Antique auction: An antique auction consists of a trade opportunity as well as provides entertainment.

2. Collectable auction: In a collectable auction, the seller may put up collectables like coins, vintage cars, luxury, stamps, real estate, and luxury for sale.

3. Wine auction: In wine auction, bidders can bid for rare wine, which may not be available in retail wine shops.

4. Horse auction: Bidders can bid for young horses of the best breed.

5. Livestock auction: In livestock auction, bidders can buy pigs, sheep, cattle, and other livestock.

The other examples of auctions may not be public. These auctions are for bidders from corporate levels. Some examples of private auctions are:

1. Timber auction
2. Spectrum auction
3. Electricity auction
4. Debit auction
5. Environmental auction
6. Auto auction
7. Electronic market auction
8. Sales of business auction

Bidders in an auction need to examine the items displayed and decide an appropriate price for an item. Thus, auctions help buyers in getting the best deals and in gaining better profits for sellers.